Thursday, February 28, 2008

Last year Wild Planet introduced a new game that turned into quite a success, called Hyper Dash. This year they will introduce two new versions of the popular get-up-and-move game with a very cute preschool version and newly imagined Hyper Jump, that will have kids jumping for joy.

Uncle Milton, the company that took ants from the picnic to the spotlight with the Ant Farm, has a new pest product that will likely raise a stink. It's a remote controlled skunk and it is sure to delight pranksters everywhere when it hits the shelves later this year. From pest to pet, Uncle Milton has it covered with the Pet's Eye View camera. This handy digital camera attaches to a pets collar and snaps random pictures as your pet goes about his or her day. Finally, good old Uncle Milty has a line of Indiana Jones items including a bedroom security toy that dumps spiders on any intruder.

Toy makers Zizzle, burst onto the scene a few years ago with iZ and have continued to develop top-notch electronic toys ever since. This year we can expect a line of ESPN branded hand-held games, a High School Musical karaoke microphone, and Hip Hop - a game that clips onto your belt and gets you up and moving to play.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Family Dollar, of Charlotte, N.C., announced a voluntary recall of FUN ‘N SAFE Magnetic Dart Boards.

Although no injuries have been reported to date, small magnets at the ends of the darts can detach. Magnets found by young children can be swallowed or aspirated. If more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestinal perforations or blockages, which can be fatal.

The magnetic dart board is about 15 inches wide with a black, white, green, and red bulls eye checkered design and was sold with six 4-inch long magnetic darts. The darts magnetically adhere to the dart board when thrown. “Made in China” is embossed on the back of the board. Sold exclusively at Family Dollar stores nationwide from January 2001 through January 2008 for about $5.

Consumers should immediately take the recalled toys away from children and return the board and all of the darts to a Family Dollar store for a refund.

For additional information, contact Family Dollar at (800) 547-0359 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.familydollar.com

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Disney Interactive Studios announced today that it will release Ultimate Band for the Nintendo Wii and DS later this year.

This new music experience game will allow players to build their own band or jam alone using the Wii Remote and DS stylus. According to Disney, the game will feature some of the biggest names in a variety of music genres including rock, alternative, pop, and emo.

As long as the music is good, this game should be a huge seller as it's the first major music game that doesn't require players to buy the additional expensive controllers. As of now, the game is slated for a Holiday release. We will let you know as soon as we here more.

Did you know that this year marks Wham-O's 60th anniversary? That's right, the company that invented the Frisbee, Hula Hoop, and Slip 'N Slide is turning 60. In addition to tons of great new toys from these three brands, Wham-o also has a really cool Glow Streak Air Hockey table coming out. Not only does the table and puck glow but an LED light inside the puck creates streaking light effects as it glides across the table.

Each year, K'NEX introduces a new thrill ride to it's line of huge construction sets. This year the ride is the Saw Blade - a 1500 piece construction set that functions like the real ride when finished. At the other end of the spectrum from the advanced-skill Saw Blade is the new line of Sesame Street kits for kids ages 3 and up. These simple snap together kits included rounded pieces that allow younger kids to easily construct their favorite Sesame Street characters.

If you tuned into Live with Regis & Kelly last Friday you saw one of our favorite new toys from Toy Fair - Night Guardians from Playmates. This cuddly plush doll comes with two light-up crystal toys that a child can activate remotely by pressing the doll's paw. The lights can be scattered around the room and placed in those dark areas that keep kids awake at night. Whenever the child is feeling scared, they just squeeze the Night Guardian's paw and the lights turn on. Night Guardians will available this fall $39.99.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

We know, we know - Toy Fair is over. But we still have so many great toys to tell you about so we are continuing our Toy Fair recaps this week. Lets get back into the coverage with Bandai!

The Power Rangers continue to be a huge hit for Bandai and this year we will see a whole new batch of figures, vehicles, and role-play items for the Power Rangers Jungle Fury line. A newer property that is also becoming an evergreen success for Bandai is Ben 10. We will see plenty of figures, accessories and role-play items for Ben 10 as well as Sumo Slammers, which bring one of the cartoon Ben's favorite past times to life. A new property that Bandai will create a line of figures for is Blue Dragon - an animated series, which is a classic adventure story of magical Shadow powers, flying air fortresses and unbounded heroism.

2008 marks the release of Tamagotchi Version 5 and this time, its all about raising a family. Speaking of electronics, Bandai's Girlz Connect line will introduce new LocketPals in a range of colors.

Monday, February 25, 2008

There are quite a few games on this week's release list that I'm looking forward to spending some time with. One that I've already had a chance to play and really enjoy is Disney Friends for the DS. This virtual pet game allows you to interact with some of your favorite Disney characters in their unique environments and both kids and adults will really get a kick out it. SEGA Bass Fishing for the Wii is another game that will appeal to all ages. The name sums it up and you can expect some good old fashioned fun as you cast off with the Wii Remote and try to land one of four different types of freshwater bass.

Everyone at theToyGuy.com is still laughing about Chris' appearance on last Friday's Live With Regis and Kelly. Apparently we aren't alone because people have been posting the video on YouTube. Here is your chance to see it if you missed it. Enjoy!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Well, ever since the Regis & Kelly sliming aired this morning, the question I keep getting asked is: "What does it feel like to get slimed?" It's probably one of the most unusual feelings you could ever have.

But before I get into that, first we have to give a huge shout out to the folks at Nick who arranged for the sliming. It takes a whole lot of people working a lot of hours to pull off something like that. And they seemed to have as much fun as we did. The day before the show, they had to figure out where they could be and how they could dump the slime, without tipping off the audience--and without damaging the very expensive light fixtures. Somehow they managed to do it.

We also have to give a shout out to the Live! team-- Jan our producer, Tommy who managed the entire process (including the clean up!), Brian the director and, of course Michael Gelman who let us have this much fun. And Kelly and Mark are two of the funniest people on the planet and about as good sports as you could imagine. Plus you may not know this, but they made history! Yes, they were the first husband and wife team ever to be slimed!

So, what does it feel like? Well, after it hits your head, all you see is green! And then, though it's only seconds, it feels like the slime just keeps pouring. For me, it was more than 3 gallons! I have to say it's a total riot. It's a little on the cold side and it doesn't taste all that bad. Can't tell you what's in it, though. That's a closely guarded secret--known only to select people at Nick, and the Slime Master who makes up each batch. (How's that for a cool job?) No two batches are really the same. It's always green, and it's always gooey, but there are always surprises.

Slime was introduced by Nick in 1982, and being slimed is a real honor. Last year, more than 40,000 Americans had that honor when Nick launched the Slime Across America tour, and of course, Slime will play a huge role in the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards on March 29.

We hope you tuned in to Live With Regis & Kelly this morning to see Chris Byrne with some of our favorite toys from Toy Fair. Regis had the day off so Mark Consuelos joined Kelly and everyone had a gooey good time.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Toy Fair has ended, however, we are going to continue posting showroom recaps here over the next few days so keep checking in. In the meantime, if you would like to see some of the toys we have been blogging about as well as some yet to be mentioned, then tune into Live With Regis & Kelly tomorrow (Friday the 22nd) when Chris Byrne will be stopping by the show with some of our favorite Toy Fair finds. Check back here after the show when we will post the list of all the toys Chris is taking with him.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Oozing through the Jakks showroom is one of our favorite mystery compounds - Nickelodeon Slime! That’s right the gross-out green substance returns this year and it's slimier than ever. Jakks also has a great line-up of non slime toys heading to stores this year including the very cool Night Vision goggles, a line of Harajuku inspired fashion dolls called Juku Couture, the Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker, which does exactly what the name implies - makes delicious cupcakes, and a new collection of Discovery Kids science and learning themed toys.

Jakks is also introducing new Hannah Montana dolls and accessories including the massive Malibu Beach House and new In Concert Dolls. For kids who want to make believe they are Hannah, the Rockin' Electric Guitar and Rock Star Acoustic guitar are both back with updated styles and colors while the new Rockin' Keyboard joins the line of rocktastic toys.

Wrestling fans have a ring full of new figures to look forward to in 2008 as Jakks amps up its World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) line of figures, playsets, and accessories. Another popular line of figures, Pokemon, will also be expanded this year focusing on collecting and interchanging pieces.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Hasbro continues to bring us closer to robotic pets as a reality with it's successful line of FurReal Friends. This year, they will introduce a new cat, a chipmunk, and a life-sized Labrador named Biscuit. In addition to the line of electronic pets, Hasbro's Playskool brand has created Kota, a robotic Triceratops that will be more than 3 feet long and respond to touch and sound.

It wasn't all robots in the Hasbro showroom, except for the Transformers, which we will get to in a second. Additional Playskool products include the Glide 2 Ride Bike, which is designed to help kids go from foot-power to petals as they learn to ride a bike. Helmet Heroes are role play toys for preschoolers that feature realistic-looking helmets with lights, sounds, and a microphone so kids can hear themselves as they broadcast their adventures. From heroes to princesses, Hasbro has the Sweet Lilly Castle - a giant princess themed house for kids to play in, which even includes a beautiful dress for kids to wear and feel like a princess.

In the world of action figures, Hasbro celebrates the 25th anniversary of G.I. Joe Vs. Cobra, a full line of In the world of action figures, Hasbro will release toys for the latest Transformers animated series, new G.I. Joe figures that celebrate the 25th Indiana Jones figures and playsets, Star Wars Clone Wars and movie character figures, new Marvel action figures, and a large-scale Cloverfield monster that includes 10 parasites, two interchangeable heads, and a Statue of Liberty head accessory.

Get ready for some of the coolest Nerf toys ever created with the Nerf Vulcan - a tripod-mounted, motorized Nerf machine gun that uses an ammo belt and storage box to fire up to 25 Nerf darts without reloading - and the Nerf N-Strike game for the NintendoWii that comes with a Wiimote-based Nerf blaster.

Check back later for a separate post on Hasbro's line of games, including the new line of EA electronic games.

Monday, February 18, 2008

This is part two of our Mattel showroom recap. Scroll down to the earlier post for part one.

In addition to the Barbie items we mentioned in the previous post, Mattel has a bunch of great toys for girls coming out in 2008 including a new Disney Princess doll - Sleeping Beauty, which comes with the three fairies from the movie who fight over the color of Sleeping Beauty's dress. The doll's dress actually changes color so kids can recreate that scene from the movie.

Look for more new Polly Pocket Pop 'N Swap figures, more High School Musical singing dolls, a new Little Mommy doll, and a new property we were only teased with called MyMeebas, which will be unveiled in June.

For boys, in addition to the items we mentioned last week, Matchbox will continue it's successful Mega Rigs line with a new space theme this year. We can also expect a range of figures, playsets, and role-play items for the next Batman movie. Speaking of movies, Mattel will also release new Cars minis, larger vehicles and a new programmable, "walking" Lightning McQueen car.

Friday, February 15, 2008

In addition to touring the Fisher-Price showroom (see earlier post below) we also had the opportunity to go through Mattel, which is conveniently in the same location as Fisher-Price (trust us, when you do Toy Fair, the less walking you have to do the better your day goes).

So let's start with Barbie. There are several new traditional doll lines due in 2008 but we want to talk about the untraditional Barbie items that you can expect to see in stores this year. Barbie iDesign, which is hitting the shelves now, is a CD Rom game that uses fashion cards that kids scan through a USB scanner to create unique fashion designs on a computer. Moving from virtual fashion to physical fashion is Barbie Bcause. This is a line of small bags and notebooks made from re-purposed scraps from the production of clothing for the dolls.

Slightly more traditional, are Peekaboo Petites and Fashion And Beauty Fashion Dolls. Peekaboo Petites are collectible, miniature dolls that come in a large variety of themes in charm-adorned cases that match and can be worn as necklaces or back-pack clips. Fashion Dolls look like traditional dolls but feature multiple points or articulation so they can be posed.

Over on the boys' side, Hot Wheels is celebrating its 40th anniversary and the production of its 4 billionth car this year. To commemorate, Hot Wheels is debuting a line-up of new vehicles, track sets, and playsets. In honor of the 4 billionth car, Mattel unveiled a one-of-a-kind, diamond-encrusted, 1:64-scale Hot Wheels car. The most expensive Hot Wheels vehicle ever made (valued at $140,000) will be auctioned off to benefit the Big Brothers Big Sisters charity organization.

We took our first Toy Fair showroom tour yesterday and it was one of the biggies - Fisher-Price. We won't beat around the bush here, the most impressive item in the showroom was by far this year's Elmo doll. Elmo Live, which will be in stores this October, is the most life-like and realistic representation of the Sesame Street puppet ever made. Not only does Elmo Live laugh and move but he stands up, sits down, crosses his legs, and waves his arms all while telling jokes, stories and flapping his mouth open and shut just like the puppet. If you catch a video of this toy in action, you would have a hard time differentiating it from the TV puppet.

Elmo wasn't the only impressive toy that Fisher-Price will release this year. Following on the success of last year's Laugh & Learn Smart Cycle, this year Fisher-Price will introduce the Laugh & Learn Smart Bounce & Spin Pony. This classic playground-themed ride for infants connects to the TV via a wireless IR device and the animated action on the TV is controlled by the movement of the child.

Another cool Fisher-Price toy is Spike the Ultra Dinosaur. This realistic moving R/C dinosaur walks, stands up on it's hind legs, makes sounds and features spikes along its back and tail that light up.

Two kid favorite cartoons will have some exciting new toys this year from Fisher-Price. Dora the Explorer will explore new heights when she teams up with a flying horse for the Dora Prance & Fly Pegasus toy. From this November's TV movie, “Dora Saves the Snow Princess”, Dora Prance & Fly Pegasus is a two-piece toy with a Dora and Pegasus doll that interact with each other and tell stories based on the movie.

Dora's cousin, Diego, has a great new line of track and vehicle based toys called Animal Rescue Railway. A flexible track system will allow kids to connect three separate play-sets each with their own animal rescue adventures.

We could go on and on about all of the great toys we saw at Fisher-Price but this is a blog and not a novel. So you can take it from us, from licensed characters to activity products to kid-tough electronics, Fisher-Price has a great line in store for kids this year.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

While Toy Fair in New York City doesn't officially begin until Sunday (February 17), we are already out on the town scouting out the best of what to expect in 2008. Check back tomorrow for the beginning of our coverage when we tell you what Mattel and Fisher-Price have in the works!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Soft Air USA Inc., of Grapevine, TX, announced a voluntary recall of their Remote-Controlled Helicopter Toys due to a potential burn or fire hazard.

This recall involves the remote-controlled helicopter toy “Fun2Fly Microcopter” with item number 91001. The helicopter comes with a transmitter that controls and recharges the helicopter. The helicopter is made of foam and plastic and measures about 6 ½ inches by 2 ½ inches. The transmitter measures about 4 1/2 inches by 5 inches. “Fun2Fly” and “Microcopter” are printed on the packaging. The item number is printed above the UPC label.

The recalled items were sold at sporting goods stores and other retailers nationwide from May 2007 through December 2007 for about $30.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled toy helicopter and return it to the retailer where it was purchased for a full refund. For additional information, call Soft Air USA collect at (817) 210-4181 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or e-mail the company at Bhook@softairusa.com

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

This Sunday at a press conference from Toy Fair, MEGA Brands will unveil a new safety standard developed with Intertek, an international testing authority. This first of its kind ingestion gauge will exceed all current and proposed ingestion standards. The new safety system will be implemented in MEGA Brands new line of toys called MagNext, which will also be shown at the press conference.

The press conference is scheduled to tale place Sunday, February 17th at 11:30 AM (EST) at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. Executives from both companies will be on to answer questions.

Monday, February 11, 2008

You may recall that last week we noted that the number of new game releases was finally picking up after the post holiday lull. Well we are happy to report that once again there are plenty of new games slated for release this week across all platforms. Looking at the list, we can tell you that the Dora and Diego games are going to be big hits with the kids and rightly so - these games are a blast!

Thursday, February 07, 2008

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Seventy Two Inc., announced a voluntary recall of the Bonafide Love Hooded Children’s Sweatshirts due to a strangulation hazard. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

This recall involves the Bonafide Love children’s hooded sweatshirts. The sweatshirts are reversible and come in two styles. The hearts and stars style is green and in the front has a heart surrounded by pink stars. On the reverse, it is hot pink with light pink dots. The Robots style is gray with drawings of robots and pink hearts. On the reverse, it has a zebra-like pattern with gray and black stripes. “Bonafide Love” is printed on a label sewn into the collar. The recalled items were sold exclusively at Nordstrom stores nationwide from November 2007 through December 2007 for about $40.

Consumers should immediately remove the drawstrings to eliminate the hazard or return the sweatshirts to Nordstrom or to Seventy Two for a full refund. For additional information, contact Seventy Two Inc. collect at (626) 330-8027 ext. 170 between 9 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Sega revealed a list of bonus events that are contained in the “My Dream” portion of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, the sequel to the critically-acclaimed hit NiGHTS. The My-Dream feature is an online environment that gives gamers the freedom to create their own dream world using elements from the NiGHTS world. Once a month, the Nightopians (the inhabitants of the dream world) will hold a special event, which includes seasonal decorations and actions such as this month's celebration of Chinese New Year. My favorite is the July celebration of the running of the bulls when the Nightopians will be wearing bull armor and holding red capes.

Monday, February 04, 2008

Good news for gamers! The slow trickle of new releases has been replaced this week with several highly anticipated new titles. Action fans can finally get into Devil May Cry 4 and the latest Turok adventure. For the party-minded gamers, Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore arrives in stores this week. For the younger audiences, several new animal titles are trotting into stores including My Horse And Me, Zoo Tycoon 2, Pet Pals, and Puppy Palace.